What The Heck Does It Mean?

Man cannot stand a meaningless life.
Final words by Carl Jung in an illuminating interview broadcast on BBC’s “Face to Face” program in 1959, when Jung was 84 years old.

We are meaning makers. We are on a quest to find beliefs and purpose in a crazy world.

My friend Tom Asacker, author of the wondrous book “The Business of Belief.”

Yes to all of that. Yes.

The joy of meaning-making is doubly pertinent as we celebrate yet another holiday, as another year comes to a close, as a new year is about to unfold.

I stumbled on a post from Patrick Allmond, a public speaker from Oklahoma City, the other day. Its simplicity captivated me:

To Keep Your Life Bullshit free:

1. Don’t shovel it. 2. Don’t live with it. 3. Don’t have it as friends. 4. Don’t work with it.

Bullshit is a meaning-word, of course. It describes the sort of meaning most of us don’t want.

Yes to that. Yes to Patrick’s 4 credos.

What’s on the other side of bullshit?

Cassis B, music composer extraordinaire, just sent a year-end-report to all of her friends, celebrating her music accomplishments in 2013. Cassis had a very fine music year. Her report celebrates her expanding musical influence.

Meaning.

A lot happened in my 2013. The publication of my book Infectious. More international travel than ever. A significant personal loss. Disappointment in some folks. Major new planting in my garden. Radiant new friends who appeared in my world.

Meaning is a funny thing.

Sometimes it emerges.

Sometimes we discover it.

Sometimes we choose it.

Especially this week, the final year of a year and the prelude to a fresh one, affords the transitional window to consolidate insights and anticipate new meaning.

With everything that happened in my 2013 life, I side with Cassis on the meaning-making front. My life expanded in 2013. It expanded with the energy of a new and ever-widening circle of friends. It expanded with the fervor of folks who don’t dole out bullshit and believe that we can make the world a better place, every one of us, an action at a time, a day at a time.

Yes. I got clear on a little more of the bullshit. Released some. Am ready to release some more.

This meaning is true for me. Most importantly, it is the meaning that most sustains me. It is the meaning that energizes. I choose it over other meanings.

And what is yours?

Achim NowakAuthor

Achim Nowak is an author, speaker, C-Suite coach, and international authority on personal presence. His book The Moment: A Practical Guide to Creating a Mindful Life in a Distracted World (New Page Books) has just been published. His previous books have become prized resources for entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 executives around the globe. Achim and his work have been featured on 60 Minutes, Fox News, NPR, in The New York Times and The Miami Herald.

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